ROTARY CLUB OF WEST COVINA TRUMPET VOLUME 56 NO. 05 September 20, 2010 Bob Weinreib, Editor Emeritus Toni Villanueva, Editor Tony Song, President Tim Walbridge, President Elect Toni Villanueva, Vice President Phyllis McDonald, Secretary Yulanda Davis-Quarrie, Treasurer Rotary Club of West Covina PO Box 93 West Covina, CA 91790 626-488-0692 Come Join Us! Wednesdays At 12:15 South Hills Country Club 2655 S. Citrus St West Covina, CA 91791-3405 626-339-1231 Visit Our Website at www.linkedin.com/in/ rotaryclubofwestcovina District Website http:// www.district5300.org/ Extra! Extra! Read All About It! In The Highlighter http:// www.district5300.org/ newsletter20102011/ news1009/nl.htm A MESSAGE FROM OUR ROTARY INTERNATIONAL PRESIDENT RI President Ray Klinginsmith has extended a personal invitation to all Rotarians and their families to join him at the 2011 RI Convention May 21-25 in New Orleans! Register before December 15, 2010 and you will only have to pay $50 to attend the Preconvention! So put on your dancing shoes and get ready for a jazzy time! A VIDEO MESSAGE FROM OUR CLUB PRESIDENT Our club President Tony Song began last week s video message wishing club members a Happy Labor Day Weekend! Members donated $57 in Happy Dollars for a grand total of $94 to go towards local projects. Our club was 62% in attendance last week. We can do better! Nestor Jimenez, President of Foothill New Generations Rotary Club was a guest speaker on September 8 and West Covina Fire Department Explorer program presented a program on September 15. See page 2 for articles.
NEW BEGINNINGS FOR ROTARY by Ken Lund Our club meeting last week involved several new adventures...one for our club and the other for Rotary International. On the club side... instead of a traditional Rotary song, our Prez Tony Song led us as we all belted out the Frank Sinatra epic, "Fly Me to the Moon" with piped in appropriate background music. We actually sounded pretty good! Our guest speaker was Nestor Jiminez, the Charter President of one of our district's two "New Generations" Rotary clubs...the Foothills Community New Gen Rotary. These types of clubs have started being formed across the country and are geared to attract younger Rotarians and get them involved in service to the community. Nestor is 28 and grew up in the West Covina and Temecula areas. He works for one of our regional banks and the club he heads meets at the 2nd Avenue Saloon in Upland. The average age of the club members is 27, and the oldest is in the early 30's. It's pretty much split 50/50 between men and women. There are 18 members and they are targeting to reach 35 by the end of this Rotary year. They meet every Wednesday at 6:30 PM at a restaurant/bar. There is no meal requirement, although you can order whatever you like. They hold a fast-paced business meeting before turning things over to the guest speaker/program. They start each meeting with collection of "happy bucks" and passing of the "polio pig." Then they get into discussing the current and upcoming service projects. During the year they will work on about 15 projects, hold about five fund raisers, and have 5-10 socials for the members. They also hang around a lot together outside of the Rotary meetings. Our Lu Arredondo has visited this club and says that it's a live-wire bunch. Our District Governor, Roger Schulte, was instrumental in the formation of this club! Do a make-up at their club...i'm sure you will find it interesting and refreshing. BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING Tuesday, September 7, 2010 our club held a Board of Directors meeting at the Stellar Business Bank corporate office in Covina on the corner of Badillo and Second Street. President Tony Song will recap on the issues that were discussed at our meeting. Our next board meeting will be held on Tuesday, October 5, 6:30 pm at the same location.
FIRE DEPARTMENT EXPLORER PROGRAM By Ken Lund It was a pleasure to welcome our Fire department as guests this week. We came together to honor, in particular, the young men of the department's Explorer Program. There are about 20 men in the program, and all are 15-21 years old. They are volunteers with a strong interest in becoming firefighters. They meet weekly, and also participate in a monthly weekend training exercise. Six of the Explorers were our guests, as well as four regular members of the Fire Dept. Each spoke to the club about what the program has meant to them. They were individually introduced by veteran Firefighter, Jason Robles. The Explorers are trained in firefighting, search and rescue, CPR, use of breathing apparatus, and first aid. They are also involved in helping the department at public events and in raising contributions for the community. A particularly poignant story was told about one of the Explorers, Cody Salter. Cody wanted to join a group of Explorers going to a special training event in Chicago...but couldn't afford it. So, he sold his high-end BMX bike, very dear to his heart, to take care of the costs. What's happened now is that a number of us want to try to replace that bike for Cody...as best we can. So, we've been collecting donations which were presented to Cody at the meeting. These amounted to $750 from our club members, $300 from our sister club, West Covina Sunrise Rotary, and more from others. In addition to all of this, Rotarian Lu Arredondo was able to arrange a $10,000 contribution to the West Covina Fire Dept. Explorer Program from the headquarters of WALMART. How about that! CONGRATULATIONS! TO. Luanne Arredondo on her fabulous presentation as moderator for the Public Relations class at the Rotary Foundation/Membership/Public Relations seminar in Etiwanda Gardens on September 11. Keep up the good work! Lionel Mabasa for accomplishing all of the duties required to earn a blue badge! President Tony Song and Club Administrator Ken Lund will determine a date to present fellow Rotarian Lionel with his badge. Please attend and show your support! Did you know that Lionel plays the piano? ROTARY CLUB OF WEST COVINA IS PROUD TO PRESENT WEST COVINA POLICE DEPARTMENT K-9 UNIT SEPTEMBER 22, 2010 AT 12:15 PM
RYLA FACILITATORS! What Is RYLA? Rotary Youth Leadership Awards is a program that gives the opportunity for potential leaders from diverse backgrounds to develop and practice leadership skills. This is accomplished through group discussion, personal experience, guest speakers and group problem solving activities. If you possess these skills, then volunteering as a facilitator is for you: Conflict management Group problem solving techniques Listening Skills Team development and dynamics Individual style assessment and debriefing Decision making skills Meeting management skills Understanding and guiding organizational change For more information please contact Amanda Hurst, District website. ROTARY CLUB OF WEST COVINA HONORS ENRIQUE KIKI CAMARENA The Rotary Club of West Covina will hold the twenty-third annual Red Ribbon Rally and Pancake Breakfast at West Covina High School on October 23, 2010 at 7:30 am. This event is held each year in honor of Enrique Kiki Camarena the DEA Agent who was kidnapped, tortured and brutally murdered in Mexico on February 7, 1985. At this year s rally, we will be honored with the presence of Mika Camarena, Kiki s widow. Mrs. Camarena and her son Enrique Camarena Jr. serve on the Board of Directors of the Enrique S. Camarena Foundation. The Foundation is a non-profit organization comprised of former DEA agents, law enforcement personnel, family and friends of Kiki. The organization serves to support scholarships for high school students, participation in the Red Ribbon Week Campaign and placement of bronze memorial busts of Agent Camarena.
CALENDAR OF EVENTS September 22 Presentation by West Covina Police Department K-9 Unit Rotary Club of West Covina 12:15 South Hills Country Club, West Covina, CA September 25 GSE Team Member Interviews, Apple Valley 9:00 am September 30 Rotary Youth Exchange applications due October 1 Clubs receive applications from schools and start interview process Vicky Abbott Honorary Rotarian Anniversary Art Barajas Rotary Anniversary October 5 Board of Directors Meeting, Stellar Business Bank Board Room, 6:30 pm corner of Badillo and Second St. Covina October 7 Moises Arredondo s Birthday October 9 GSE Team Member Orientation location to be determined October 11 Columbus Day October 15 Clubs turn in TLC Parental Consent and Medical Treatment Forms in to registrar October 22 Mesquite Sunrise Golf Getaway, Mesquite, Nevada Interact Symposium, Irvine Ranch Outdoor Education Center October 23 Rotary Club of West Covina and West Covina Sunrise Red Ribbon Rally, West Covina High School 7:30 am Apple Valley s 9th Annual Happy Trails Chili Cook Off Brewster Park, Apple Valley 10:30 am October 28 Clubs hold TLC meeting with Parents and Students October 29 Art Barajas Birthday October 31 Halloween